The present inventive concept herein relates to multi-channel optical modules, and more particularly, to a multi-channel optical module capable of processing a plurality of signals having different optical wavelengths.
As data traffic on the internet explosively increases, demands for high speed data transmission system such as gigabit Ethernet are increasing. To satisfy those demands, a study of providing a plurality of data through one optical fiber using a conventional WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) technique is being performed.
An optical diplexer transceiver module for two-way data communication uses two signals having different optical wavelengths for two-way data communication. One of the two signals is used to process an up-stream signal and the other is used to process a down-stream signal.
FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a general optical diplexer. Referring to FIG. 1, the optical diplexer uses two signals having different optical wavelengths to provide two-way data communication. A signal having an optical wavelength of λ1 may be used for a down-stream data communication and a signal having an optical wavelength of λ2 may be used for an up-stream data communication. Two optical modules are used to process the two signals. One optical module processes a signal having an optical wavelength of λ1 and the other module processes a signal having an optical wavelength of λ2.
In case of a cable television, a video signal is additionally used besides the up-stream and down-stream data. Thus, an optical triplexer module for processing three signals is required.
FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating a general optical triplexer. Referring to FIG. 2, the optical triplexer uses three signals having different optical wavelengths to provide two-way data communication and a video service. A signal having an optical wavelength of λ1 may be used for a down-stream data communication, a signal having an optical wavelength of λ2 may be used for an up-stream data communication and a signal having an optical wavelength of λ3 may be used for a video service.
Three optical modules are used to process three signals. Each of the optical modules processes an optical signal having a different wavelength. Consequently, as a data capacity to be processed increases, a quantity of optical wavelength to be used also increases. That is, if one service is added, one optical wavelength is additionally required to process the corresponding service. As a quantity of optical wavelength increases, a quantity of optical module required also increases. Thus, an optical module is required that has a simple structure and can process a lot of optical wavelengths.